On both conference days, delegates must wear Western formal attire to maintain a professional atmosphere.
Delegates are expected to follow academic integrity with no exceptions. Copy-pasting, claiming other delegates’ work to be original, or using large chunks of someone else’s research is unacceptable. Delegates discovered to be plagiarizing will first be given a verbal warning, and then will not be permitted to participate in committee sessions and will be disqualified from consideration for awards.
Delegates must maintain appropriate and respectful behaviour towards everyone around them. The following will strictly not be tolerated:
If a delegate feels uncomfortable at any point during committee sessions or outside of them, they are requested to approach a teacher, a chairperson, or the organizers of the IISP MUN to deal with the issue. If a delegate is found participating in or perpetuating such behaviour, they will be subject to investigation and the provision of appropriate disciplinary action.
Before the committee session begins, the Executive Board will take attendance for all delegates in the committee. When a delegate’s country name is called, they will need to respond with either “present,” which gives them the right to abstain from voting, or “present and voting,” which makes it compulsory for them to vote.
The General Speakers’ List (GSL) is a rolling list of countries who wish to speak about the issue in general, and allows delegates to lay the foundations of their country’s stance on the agenda. It is not compulsory to speak in the GSL, but delegates can add their country to the GSL as many times as they wish. A GSL speech is typically 60-90 seconds, depending on the discretion of the Chair.
If a delegate has time left over after completing their speech, they may yield the rest of their time in several different ways:
Delegates are permitted to pass chits in order to pass any information to other delegates pertaining to the agenda during General Speakers’ List discussions or moderated caucuses. The chit should start by mentioning which country the chit is from and which country it is intended for. If a delegate wishes that the Chair also views the chit, they can pass it through the Executive Board.
For all matters except the passing of the Draft Resolution, the committee requires a simple majority (50% + 1). For example, if there are 30 people in the committee, 16 people (15+1) need to vote for the matter to pass it.
A moderated caucus is a platform for delegates to have a discussion about a specific subtopic under the main agenda. The total speaking time, individual speaking time, and topic of the moderated caucus are decided before it begins. Moderated caucuses are proposed to establish delegates’ stances on specific subtopics of the agenda.
An unmoderated caucus is an informal platform for delegates to have unstructured discussions. It serves the purpose of deciding topics for moderated caucuses and working on drafting resolutions. Delegates are permitted to move around the room, leave the room, and speak freely during an unmoderated caucus. The total time is decided before the unmoderated caucus.
Except for interrupting another delegate’s speech, delegates can raise the point of parliamentary inquiry at any moment in the committee. This point is raised when a delegate has any question about committee procedure.
This is the only point which allows delegates to interrupt another delegate’s speech. This point is raised when a delegate has any personal discomfort, such as being unable to hear the speaker, needing to use the restroom, or feeling hot/cold.
When a delegate yields their time to questions, another delegate may raise a point of information. The question should be short, and should be able to be answered by the delegate in the time left.
A delegate should raise a point of order when they feel the flow of the committee is not following the rules of procedure. For example, if the Chair forgets to conduct the roll call, a delegate can raise a point of order.
When the Executive Board opens the floor to motions, a delegate raise a motion for a moderated caucus by saying, “The delegate of [country] would like to raise a motion for a moderated caucus on the topic of [topic] for a total speaking time of (time under 20 minutes), and an individual speaking time of [time under 90 seconds].”
When the Executive Board opens the floor to motions, a delegate can raise a motion for an unmoderated caucus by saying, “The delegate of [country] would like to raise a motion for an unmoderated caucus for a total time of [time under 30 minutes].” If delegates want to extend the time, they can request the Chair to extend it by half the original meeting time.
If a delegate wishes to interrupt the flow of an ongoing motion, they must receive permission from the Executive Board to suspend debate and move into another motion, such as a moderated or unmoderated caucus. Suspension of debate requires a majority vote from all delegates physically present in the committee room.
Once committee stances have solidified, countries with like-minded views (also known as blocs) will begin writing Draft Resolutions, structured documents that contain specific points about tackling the issue presented by your committee’s agenda. In committee, a maximum of 3 draft resolutions can be discussed.
Sponsors are the countries who have authored the Draft Resolution. There can be a maximum of 2 sponsors. Signatories are those who are interested in seeing the Draft Resolution presented and voted upon. They do not necessarily have to agree with the complete contents of the Resolution.
Once all Draft Resolutions are submitted, delegates are expected to raise a motion to discuss the Draft Resolution: “The delegate of [country] would like to raise a motion to introduce [name of Draft Resolution].” The motion is then voted upon, and if it passes, the Draft Resolution is shared with all members of the committee.
Delegates from the bloc (usually the sponsors) will present the Draft Resolution to the rest of the committee, clause by clause. If there is time remaining after the presentation, the floor will be opened for questions from the rest of the committee.
Following the presentation, up to the discretion of the Chair, a moderated caucus will be introduced, where delegates can speak for or against the Draft Resolution. Signatories and those opposing the Draft Resolution will be expected to speak and offer their country’s viewpoint on the Draft Resolution.
To suspend discussion and introduce voting for the Draft Resolution, any delegate must raise the following motion: “The delegate of (country) would like to raise a motion to move into voting on (name of Draft Resolution).” Sponsors and signatories must vote on the Resolution, as well as those who said “present and voting” during roll call. A special majority (two-thirds) is required for a Resolution to pass.